FIFA World Cup 2010: Why Winning Group C Would Be Huge

Time to look ahead and speculate, which means absolutely nothing because none of this (or all of this) may actually happen.

“So you’re saying there’s a chance?”

Four teams have already punched their ticket to the knockout stage, and the tournament bracket is starting to take shape.

With that in mind, the winner of Group C may look at the World Cup bracket and see an advantageous route to the semifinals.

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict Germany to defeat Ghana in tomorrow’s pivotal Group D matchup. If you do not agree with this prediction, then there is no need to continue reading.

With a German victory, Die Mannschaft will win Group D, and go on to play the runner-up of Group C.

Now there’s certainly one advantage of winning Group C—avoiding the European giants in the round of 16 would be favorable to any side.

But suppose the runner-up of Group C—be it England, USA, Slovenia, or even Algeria—bested the Germans in the first knockout game. That team would move on to the quarterfinals to face the winner of Argentina-Mexico.

I foresee Argentina winning that match, so in accordance with that prediction, the Group C runner-up would face the sixth and seventh ranked teams in the world en route to the semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, the route to the semifinals seems much more favorable.

A round 16 matchup against either Ghana, Serbia, or Australia, is preceded by a quarterfinals fixture with either Uruguay or South Korea.

The Group C winner’s road to the semifinals is leaps and bounds easier than the team that finishes second in the group.

For England, USA, Slovenia, and Algeria, tomorrow’s crucial fixtures will be hotly contested. The bracket is much more favorable for the Group C winner.

Of course, you still have to win the matches, so there really is no easy way to semifinals.